AFTER spending the rest of the day and into the night cleaning up bodies and doing what they could for the remaining survivors the group headed off for some much needed showers, food and sleep, promising Elias that they'd meet later to talk. Considering the man was practically dead on his feet he didn't object in the slightest.
Between the five Elites apartments they all managed to shower off the grime of the day. Once clean they all gathered back up at Gladius' where someone had pushed the living room furniture back and laid several mattresses side by side to create one giant sleeping space.
Cheza let out a sigh as she walked out of the bedroom and over to where Zack, Maddox,Vicious and Ghost were already sprawled out on the mattresses, naked and relaxed. She tossed the towel she'd been using to catch the water dripping from her hair off to the side and climbed in between her men, collapsing face down. "I'm exhausted" She mumbled into the mattress. Every muscle in her body ached. She heard the click of the front door opening, but paid it no mind in favor of sinking further into the warm, comfy bed, instead of wasting the energy to raise her head. The only people allowed through the barrier she'd placed around the building were people she trusted.
Nox stopped so abruptly that Gladius was barely able to keep from running right into his friend. He snorted as the man stood frozen in place, transfixed at the omega's naked back, hunger burning in his eyes. Gladius moved past his friend to set the bags of food he'd been carrying down on the coffee table before going back to take the rest of the bags out of Nox's hands before he could drop them or drool on them.
"You gonna just stand there and stare or are you gonna come join us?" Maddox coaxed. He slapped Cheza on the ass then ran his hand up her back, "Don't be afraid to touch, we don't mind"
Cheza snorted, "If you want Nox to screw you Mads just ask, you don't have to use my ass as bait"
"But it's such a nice ass, round and firm" Maddox purred, giving one of her cheeks a squeeze. "Why don't you take your clothes off and come give it a squeeze Nox" He said, giving the other alpha a charming smile.
Nox snorted, "I have to be naked to squeeze it?"
"Of course, it's always more fun squeezing things when naked" Maddox replied.
Gladius wrapped his arm around Nox's shoulders, "He's got you there" He said just as Kadian and Kyle stepped over the threshold.
"Fair warning, I'm too tired to help, so if anyone wants my ass they're gonna have to do all the work" Cheza yawned.
"Whose ass are we doing?" Kadian questioned until he turned his head and saw the pile of naked bodies, "Ooooh are we joining an orgy or watching on orgy?" He asked, bouncing excitedly as Kyle froze beside him.
"That depends if we can entice you guys out of your clothes" Maddox said hopefully.
"I'm in" Kadian exclaimed, yanking his shirt over his head and nearly face planting while he tried to get his pants off. He flung himself on the mattress as the door opened again and Gabe came in.
Kyle stood stone still, looking startled, with his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide at the beautiful bodies with swirls of black covering them as they laid together like a painter's seductive work of art.
"Kyle looks like he's about to either jump someone or pass out" Gabe teased playfully.
Maddox nudged Cheza, "Flash him your tits, maybe that'll entice him"
"Or finish him off" Zack snickered.
Cheza turned over and gave Kyle a sweet smile as his eyes dropped down to her firm breasts "Come here Kyle" she called, holding out her hand.
Kyle took a step before catching himself. He narrowed his eyes at the omega "She's like some kind of freaking siren" He mumbled.
Cheza's smile turned mischievous, "I promise you'll enjoy it"
Kyle shook his head, "It's like you just know you're being led straight to certain doom, but you want to go anyway"
Gabe shrugged, "But what a way to go" He said, shoving his sweats down and stepping out of them, leaving only his tight boxers as he joined them.
"You know once upon a time I actually thought Gabe was quiet and reserved" Nox chuckled as he came back from the kitchen carrying bottles of drinks.
"That's certainly not what I heard," Cheza said, smirking at the redhead. She'd heard plenty to the contrary. The Sheppards all had big mouths.
Gabe snorted, "Which stories did they tell you?" He asked curiously.
"All of them, but on the jeep hood in the cargo plane is my favorite, even Ulric was impressed by that one" Cheza laughed.
"Which time?" Gabe questioned.
Cheza's eyes glittered, "Just how many times did you bend Domi over the hood of a jeep?" She asked as everyone stared at the redhead like he'd grown a second head.
"A few" Gabe smirked, "Why do you guys look so shocked?" He snorted as everyone but Cheza stared at him.
"We're trying to imagine how anyone has big enough balls to even try to bend the monstrous force that is Dom over anything and still be alive to tell the tale" Zack said with a whole new appreciation for the man.
Gabe laughed, "I guess I just have a way with the feral beasts that are the Sheppards" He joked.
"What I wanna know is, is the story I heard about how you became an Elite true?" Cheza asked eager to know.
"That depends on what you heard" Gabe replied.
"The way Rowan tells it, Ulric tried to get in your pants during a mission and you punched him hard enough to knock him on his ass and after Rowan finally stopped laughing, he was impressed enough that he had you tested, then transferred over to the Elites" Cheza recounted what she'd been told.
Gabe smirked, "That's pretty close to what happened"
"That's how you joined the Elites, I didn't know that, how have I not heard this story before?" Kadian questioned curiously.
Gabe shrugged, "You never asked" He said. His friends had always tiptoed around talking much about that time in his life, too afraid of how he always withdrew when he was reminded of the pain of being abandoned. But for the first time it felt like having a weight lifted off of him talking about it. His lips pulled up, "Rowan said, anyone with enough balls to put his asshole kids in their place was someone he wanted on his side"
"That sounds like pops" Cheza laughed.
"Didn't they call Rowan Sheppard, The Bloody Titan, because he's like twelve feet tall and alway covered in blood?" Kadian said ominously.
"He wishes he was that tall" Gabe snorted.
Cheza laughed, "He's about the same height as Gladius, so he's only a little over seven feet"
"His presence is what makes him feel so menacing, like all the Sheppard's" Zack chimed in. "Vivianne is nowhere near the size of the brothers and I've seen her make people cry with one look"
Cheza burst into giggles, "Remember that minotaur that collapsed to the ground, burst into wails and begged her to beat him like the lowly worm he was, gods Vivi is such a badass" She said with admiration.
"You're a badass, she's just evil" Maddox corrected.
Cheza snorted, "And I'm not?"
"You're chaotic and only drift to the evil side when you think people deserve it " Zack clarified.
"Clearly I need to step up my game if you only see me as mildly evil" Cheza said mischievously. "But first things first, Gladius, my darling mate, come embrace your destiny as my personal heater and keep me warm with all your massive muscles" Cheza beckoned, holding her arms open wide.
Gladius smirked, "I suppose if it's my destiny I have no choice but to muddle through it somehow" He said dryly as he made his way over. Cheza pulled him down on top of her, She ran her hands down the back of his sweats clenching a cheek in each hand before attacking his mouth. He groaned and pulled back, "As good as this feels, you need to eat something"
Cheza stared at him incredulously, "Or you could get naked and we could have an encore of this afternoon" She suggested instead.
"Wait, what the hell were you two doing this afternoon?" Zack demanded, eyes narrowing on the pair suspiciously.
"Just spending a little quality time together" Cheza answered vaguely, smirking at Gladius.
"She got on her knees and sucked his dick in a filthy alley, it was disgusting" A new voice said. A tall, slim male with pale skin that had a unique shimmer to it, blonde white hair and pointed ears answered.
"His dick?" Zack teased, one eyebrow raised.
"The alley, the dick was... impressive?" The male said slowly, cocking his head in question.
"Why does that sound like a question?" Kadian asked curiously
"Viori is still learning the languages of this world" Cheza explained, "Impressive is an understatement, you're learning so quickly" She praised proudly.
"Viori, wait, isn't that what you called one of the hooded fighters earlier" Kadian questioned. The robe was gone and instead he was wearing black pants and a hoodie over his athletic frame.
Cheza laughed, "They wear the robes to look menacing, otherwise people would think they were being attacked by cute little twinks" She teased. The quads were all lithe with delicate features, not the least bit threatening, until you were met with the pointy end of their scythes.
Viori glared at the omega, then dipped his hand in one of the bags on the coffee table and pulled out a container with a slice of cake in it, all the while never breaking eye contact.
"You wouldn't" Cheza growled, as Viori held the cake in his hand. He gave her a malicious grin and then poofed right out of existence. "That asshole stole my cake" She exclaimed as laughter rose up around her.
"Gods, I didn't know the little asshole had such a big set of balls" Zack said in between cackling like a fiend.
Cheza grabbed Zack by the biceps and shook him, "He took my cake Zack" She said completely aghast.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Zack wheezed, out of breath from laughing so hard.
"You're my enforcer, ENFORCE" She demanded.
"Enforce what? He's probably already eaten it" Zack smirked. "It's your own fault, you know he hates being called cute"
"Noooo, my cake" Cheza wailed, sliding down until she was slumped into a puddle of despair.
Gladius snorted, "Don't pout, I'll buy you all the cake you want" He assured her, pressing a kiss to her head.
"At least someone loves me" She said, wrapping her arms around Gladius while glaring at Zack.
"Is she alway this dramatic over cake" Nox asked, voice dripping with amusement.
Zack gave a long suffering sigh, "Yes, yes she is, the last time Logan tried to eat her cake she stabbed him with a fork"
Gladius leaned in close to her ear, "Am I the only person you share your cake with?" He asked. Cheza almost always offered him a bite of whatever she was eating. Including her cake.
"You share your cake with him?" Vicious gasped very dramatically.
Cheza gave them a innocent smile, "I don't know what you're talking about"
"Cake, ice cream, she even gave me a bite of her cheesecake the other day" Gladius said smugly at the wide eyed stares he was receiving.
Cheza covered his mouth with one hand, "Shhhh, some things are too depraved to speak of"
"You sucked my cock out in public for the world to see, but sharing your cake is what you consider depraved," Gladius said dryly.
"Don't laugh at me, I'm traumatized from the loss of my cake" Cheza pouted.
"My poor mate" Gladius cooed, pressing another kiss to her head, "Will the onion rings I got you help?"
Cheza cut her eyes over to the bags of food, "That depends"
"I got you fried mushrooms and fries too, with lots of ranch" Gladius chuckled.
Cheza pursed her lips playfully, "I suppose I can make do" Gladius dragged one of the bags over, pulled out a container and handed it to her.
"So can I ask you something?" Kadian asked as he grabbed his container of food.
"You can ask me anything" Cheza replied.
"Those people you brought back, what are they?" Kadian asked.
"They're alive, not revants or puppets or zombies, if that's what you're worried about" Cheza said.
"So you can bring dead people back to life?" Kadian questioned.
"Yes and no" Cheza started, "The magik I used was mostly a healing spell to repair the bodies. When people die there's a small window of opportunity before the souls leaves the physical body, if you bind the soul to the body you can repair the body and bring that person back, I had my quads bind the souls of everyone they could in between fighting"
"Then you used the equivalent of a supernova's energy to heal and bring them back" Zack groused, "You could have put yourself into stasis with that stunt"
Cheza shrugged, "If it keeps a few people from knowing what it's like to lose someone they love then it's worth it, so stop arguing" She ordered, shoving a french fry in Zack's mouth just as he opened it.
"I'm not going to win this argument am I" Zack said after swallowing.
Cheza gave him a knowing smirk, "You already know the answer to that, now eat, so we can rest, we still have a lot of work to do tomorrow"
* * * * *
ZACK absently stroked the arm Cheza's had draped across his chest, just enjoying the weight of her sprawled out across him and Gladius as she slept deeper then she'd slept in a long time. His mind raced with thoughts he couldn't seem to escape no matter how hard he tried. He'd spent the last few months worried out of his mind about the omega. He could feel her slipping farther away from them everyday, Her coming here alone was something she'd done despite their objections, insisting it had to be done for reasons none of them could fully understand then or now. It had isolated her and Cheza did not do well with isolation. No dragon did. To have her finally acting more like herself again filled him with relief. She'd been more grounded the last couple days than he'd ever seen her and he knew exactly who he had to thank for that.
"Stop thinking Zack and go to sleep already" Vicious grumbled.
"Bite me" Zack said quietly.
"Pass, how about you tell me what's on your mind instead" Vicious prompted, resting his head on his hand.
Zack snorted, "What do you think"
Vicious hummed. He knew exactly what was on his brother's mind, "We aren't gonna lose her Zack" He said, getting nothing but a grunt in response. "Just because Chaos is a part of her doesn't maker her them"
"Of course she's not, she's nothing like Chaos" Zack defended vehemently.
"Which is why she won't leave us, so maybe let go of some of your fear that she's either going to die or go mad" Vicious suggested.
"We didn't think Chaos could die either, not until that bastard plunged a sword in their chest and he's still out there somewhere" Zack spat.
"We haven't seen him in millenia, but if he decides to show his face, we'll deal with him" Vicious assured his brother.
"No one's taking Cheza from us" Gladius whispered just loud enough for them to hear him. No one was taking his mate, he'd protect her even if he had to burn the world down to do it.
* * * * *
AFTER their much needed rest they made their way back to the castle. This time though instead of the throne room they gathered in Elias' family's wing of the castle. Cheza was officially introduced to her relatives, Elias's Mate, Elanor, their oldest twin boys, Eli and Ethan and their youngest, a daughter Elle. Julian of course she already knew. It took a while for Cheza to go through the parts of her life she was willing to share. Even though they were related they were still virtual strangers that hadn't earned her trust yet. Only time would tell if they ever did.
"I can't believe Landra was alive all that time and we never knew," Elias said, lips tight..
"There was no way you could, Aladasir made sure no one knew, except for a couple of his most trusted advisors, then he thought both Landra and I had been assassinated by Gaven" Cheza explained.
"And Gaven has been working for you all this time?" Elias questioned, wanting to make sure he understood things correctly.
"Yes, we made a deal, he spies for me and I don't end his life in a violent and bloody manner" Cheza affirmed.
"She's such a charmer, how could I possibly refuse" Gaven said sarcastically as he sauntered into the room.
"I see you're still alive and not in chains, so I take it things went well" Cheza said, teasing the man.
Gaven plopped down in a nearby chair, "Oh he tried, but the army follows my commands and the Elites aren't inclined to help him for obvious reasons, so that just left his personal guards and after I made an example of the first one that tried, the others felt it wasn't in their best interest to follow anymore orders" Gaven explained.
"Do we dare ask what you did to the guard" Gabe questioned hesitantly. Gaven's mysterious aura led to many rumors being spread and most of them weren't flattering. Beneath his beauty there was said to be a dark malevolence.
Gaven thought it over for a moment, "It's probably best you don't" He said giving a malicious grin, that showed off his almost inhumanly sharp white teeth.
"So what happens now?" Elias asked uncertainly.
"That's a very broad question, you're going to have to be a bit more specific" Cheza told the man.
"I guess I'm mostly concerned about the King and the city's safety," Elias said, trying to put his thoughts into words.
"Now that Marakeith knows I'm alive, he won't care about anything but hunting me, as for Alasdair, unfortunately I can't kill him" Cheza sighed.
Elias nodded in understanding, "That's understandable, he is the King after all"
"Huh, oh no, that's not why," Cheza waved off, "Domi made me promise I'd let him kill the bastard"
Gabe started laughing, "He really isn't letting that go is he?"
Cheza shook her head and laughed, "He's been fantasizing about it for a very long time"
"Wait, what did the King do to make Reaper angry enough to kill him?" Kadian asked curiously.
"Aladasir put a hit out on all the Sheppards when they wouldn't bow down to him, ever since then they've all had it out for him and when that failed, he threatened Gabe and well, we both tend to react the same way when someone threatens what's ours, so Domi decided he's the one who gets to kill him" Cheza said, shrugging. "Repeatedly trying to kill me sealed Aladasir fate for good"
"Exactly how many assassins did they send after you?" Gabe asked.
"Seven that I know about" Cheza answered and Gaven nodded.
"And Reaper killed them before they could hurt you?" Gladius asked, wanting to reassure himself his mate had never truly been in danger.
"Not exactly" Cheza said slowly as Gaven laughed so hard he nearly tumbled out of his chair.
"They hurt you?" Gladius asked, anger rising.
"No, what I mean is Domi didn't kill them, I did" Cheza clarified and everyone stared at her except Gaven.
"How long did you say Gaven has been working for you?" Nox questioned, eyes cutting over to the practically hysterical fae man.
"Yes darling, how old were you when you brutally slaughtered half a dozen of the worlds best assassins?" Gaven asked, giggling like a maniac.
"You know it's not too late for me to add you to the list" Cheza hissed, pointing a finger at him.
"You know you love me," Gaven replied, blowing her a kiss.
Cheza rolled her eyes, "Gaven and I have known each other for almost fourteen years" She had several pairs of wide eyes staring at her.
"She was absolutely adorable, at least until she turned into this demon who enjoyed hacking people to bits" Gaven cooed.
"Gods, she was adorable" Maddox said, whipping out his phone, he pulled up his favorite picture of Cheza at about five, he turned the phone around and proudly showed the group.
"How the hell- Did Domi give you that?" Cheza scowled.
"What's that on fire behind you?" Kadian asked curiously.
"I think you mean who" Vicious cackled.
"This just gets better and better" Nox snickered.
"You're so impressive" Gladius murmured, pressing a kiss to the side of her head, her lips twisted into a smile.
"You still haven't told us who's on fire in the picture" Nox goaded.
"Was this one of the assassins, or was it one of the people who tried flirting with Dom" Maddox questioned.
"It might have been that guy she saw kick a dog" Ghost unhelpfully chimed in.
"If we start listing off all of her victims we'll be here for days" Zack snorted.
"Anyway" Cheza said loudly, "Marakeith will be too focused on me to worry about much else, plus I have the Sun Sphere now, which is what he attacked for in the first place, once we're both out of the city, you shouldn't have to worry about that, as for Alasdair, Gaven will keep him in check until Domi can rid us of him and if extra help is needed until then, we'll be glad to pop back and assist" She added gleefully, "The better question is if you've considered my offer?"
"Offer?" Elias questions before remembering the remarks she made the day before. "You mean me being King?" He whispered the last word.
"Yes, it'd be best if it's you since the kingdom already knows you, but I can bully Enzo into doing it if you really don't want the job" Cheza said.
"Enzo?" Elias questioned, brows furrowed in confusion since he didn't know anyone by that name.
Cheza glared at Gaven and his cat that ate the canary grin. "You said he knew," She hissed.
"Did I? It must have been a slip of the tongue" Gaven said, trying to feign innocence.
"Who's Enzo?" Elias demanded.
Cheza let out a long sigh and answered, "Alasdair's illegitimate son, well one of them anyway"
"What!" Elias shouted. "I- that, that can't be true" He said in disbelief.
"It wasn't my intention to spring it on you and if someone had told me the truth, I wouldn't have" Cheza said, sending a glare towards the fae.
"No, I- I'm alright, I'm just a little taken aback how oblivious I've been to this family's secrets, despite living my whole life in this castle, it seems I don't know anything at all, it feels like my whole life has been a lie" Elias said rubbing his temples. His head snapped over at Cheza, when she didn't bother to contradict his fears. "What else don't I know?"
Cheza winced, "Probably a lot, but I think you've had enough to digest for the time being"
Elias nodded, "You might be right, but I still have so much I want to ask you"
"We'll be here a little bit longer and it's not like we won't be back, we'll have plenty of time to talk, Especially if you take the throne," Cheza assured him. "Or you could even come home with us if you'd rather leave the city"
"That's- That's a very kind offer, I confess I'm not really sure what would be best and of course I'll need to speak to Elanor and the children before I can give you an answer" Elias explained.
"Take your time, it's not like the offer is gonna expire" Cheza waved him off.
"Wait, what's this about leaving?" Kadian questioned.
Cheza nodded, "We've done all we can here, it's time to take the fight to monster himself"
* * * * *
"GLADIUS?" A voice called as the group made their way out of the halls of the castle.
Gladius stiffened at the sound of his name being called in an all too familiar voice. He swallowed hard and hesitantly turned to face someone he'd hoped to never see again.
"Gladius, It really is you" The man said, stepping toward him. Gladius took a step back without thinking and next thing he knew Cheza was standing in front of him, a rather large knife in her hand and the blade pointed at the man's throat.
"Who the hell are you?" Cheza growled. Eying the man who'd made her mate afraid enough to step back. He was tall, broad and muscular, with dark hair and familiar eyes.
"Whoa" The man tried, swallowing hard as fear radiated off him, "I'm-"
"You're nothing" Nox growled, stepping up beside Cheza. It pleased him to no end to see the spark of fear in the man's eyes.
Gladius snorted and shook his head, his anxiety replaced by amusement as the two stood in front of him, Nox vibrating with rage and Cheza one wrong look away from gutting the man. "Easy you two, you don't need to kill him" He tried to soothe them. "This is Maximus, he was my brother" He said, since no one but Nox was privy to that information.
"Brother?" Cheza's already red eyes flared, "Considering what I know about your family, that's all the more reason for me to kill him, the only real question is do you want me to make it quick or slow?" She questioned, her lips twisting in a smirk that made her soon to be victim eyes bulging and a shiver running through him.
"Slowly, make him suffer" Nox growled in answer.
"Don't worry about that, she mastered the art of torture a long time ago" Maddox chimed in as he moved up beside them, ready to help.
Gladius smiled as the others moved around him protectively. He'd be lying if he said it didn't feel good to have so many people ready to have his back. His poor brother though looked helpless and terrified. "Let's at least hear what he wants first" He said, taking pity on the man. Gladius wrapped his arm around his omega's waist and pulled her back against his chest before she decided to stab the man. "What do you want Max?" He asked.
The man shook his head and lowered his arms, "I just saw you and I-"
"If all you want to do is remind me what a colossal disappointment I am to the family, you can save your breath" Gladius interrupted, yanking Cheza back as she shifted, ready to lunge for his brother's throat.
Maximus took a wary step back from the omega glaring and snarling at him, "Okay I deserved that, I just wanted- you know it's really hard to apologize when your bodyguard looks like she's going to rip my head off any second"
"But you'd look so good headless and covered in blood" Cheza growled, flashing her fangs at the man.
"She's not kidding, so if you've got something to say I'd suggest you get on with it quickly" Zack urged the man.
"Mate, Cheza is my mate" Gladius corrected, "Look Max, if this has something to do with mom or dad, you can save-"
"It doesn't" Maximus said quickly. "I want to apologize to you, I was just as big of an asshole as Dad, it never even occurred to me then that it was us that there was something wrong with, not until I got out from under his influence" He shook his head, "I have no excuse though, I mean we grew up in the same house and you were never hateful like the rest of us, I'm so sorry for the way I acted and the way I treated you" He rushed out.
Gladius couldn't believe what he was hearing. Maximus was actually apologizing and while it wouldn't magically fix the years of abuse he'd been subjected to, it was something, but he had to wonder, "Why the sudden change?"
Maximus smiled widely, "I've got a mate now, an alpha" he answered enthusiastically. "Turns out I'm a 'deviant' too" He chuckled at the old insult their father liked to throw around.
"Freaking hell" Gladius snorted, shaking his head, "I bet dad took that well"
Max shrugged, "I wouldn't know and honestly I don't care, you were smart to get away from us when you did"
"You cut them out completely?" Nox asked skeptically.
"Yep" Max answered, smiling even wider, "I chose my mate and I've never been happier, wait-" He paused cocking his head to the side, "If she's your mate, does that mean you two aren't together anymore?" He asked, motioning between Gladius and Nox.
Cheza threw her hands up in exasperation, "Humans, you'd think they never heard of polyamory before" She growled, rolling her eyes. "We're all together"
"Uh" Max said, trying to wrap his head round that, then he chuckled, "You really have a type, sharp tongued and fiercely protective, seems like you're doing pretty well too"
Gladius looked down at his mate, the heat from the others seeping into him from where they had gathered around him, "Yeah, I'm doing great as a matter of fact" He said.
"I'm glad and I'm relieved you're safe, I heard the attack yesterday was really bad. I was told one of Nighthaven's generals was even killed, I haven't got all the details yet though, I'm supposed to be meeting with the advisory council now to discuss the situation" Max said.
Maddox and Zack burst into laughter as Nox smirked wickedly, Gladius and Cheza shared a look with each other.
Gladius turned back to his brother, barely holding back his own laughter, boy was the man in for a surprise, "I'm almost afraid to ask, what job are you doing these days?"
Maximus gave a look of surprise, "I've been working as an emissary and an advisor for the last few years, why?"
Gladius finally lost the battle and burst out laughing, "You'll be hearing a lot about us then"
Cheza smiled, "It was Merrick, I sliced and diced him then dropped his lifeless corpse in front of the throne" She announced proudly.
Max's eyes went wide, "Okay" He said slowly, "It sounds like this is gonna be interesting"
"Oh it'll definitely be that" Maddox snickered.
"Talk to Gaven, he's in charge for the time being, he'll fill you in on what you need to know" Cheza advised.
Maximus' eyes widened again, "Did something happen to the King? Was he killed or something?"
"Not yet, it's a work in progress" Cheza said flashing her fangs again, "Just talk to Gaven, he'll tell you what you need to know"
Maximus nodded and turned his attention back to Gladius, "I'll understand if the answer is no, but do you think we can talk again?" He asked hopefully.
"I-" Gladius hesitated. Turning it over in his mind if he actually wanted to see his brother again. The thought didn't fill him with anxiety like it used to and he knew that was thanks to the people gathered around him and the omega in his arms. "Yeah- okay, if you don't mind risking your life then I think we could arrange that" He said, looking down at his mate who was staring up at him, patiently waiting for him to make the decision for himself even though he was certain she was itching to draw blood. She nodded then turned back to his brother.
Cheza looked Maximus in the eyes and gave him one final warning, "Just remember this, you hurt him again and I'll make you beg for death"